Tyler Higbee embracing expanded use of tight ends, new status as Rams' longest- tenured player

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tyler Higbee has been with the Los Angeles Rams long enough to see teammates come and go, some under surprising circumstances brought about by the organization’s ruthless pursuit of winning.

Despite being the team’s longest-tenured player, there were no guarantees the veteran tight end would be back for his 11th season until signing a two-year extension in March. Now, Higbee is ready to justify the Rams’ continued trust in him.

“I understand how rare it is to be in the same position or on the same team for as long as I have been,” Higbee said. “I don’t take that lightly so I give everything I’ve got. I try to be the best I can, best teammate, best player. I come in here and I work every day and I expect to earn it. I don’t feel like I’m just going to be here because I’ve been here that long.”

Head coach Sean McVay called Higbee “the greatest tight end in Rams history.” He is the franchise career leader at the position in receptions (386), yards receiving (3,949), and touchdown receptions (27).

But at 33-years-old and having dealt with multiple injuries over the previous two seasons, it would not have been a surprise if the organization moved on from Higbee. The Rams have been willing to let bigger names go, even if meant absorbing hits in terms of finances or draft assets.

Bringing back Higbee is a reflection of his versatility, which is particularly useful as the Rams have significantly expanded their use of multiple tight end sets in the past year.

“The beauty is that he’s got the ability to be a real contributor in the pass game, in the run game,” McVay said. “He can play in line. He can be a move player for us, and he’s also shown proficiency as a protector.”

McVay capitalized on the varied skill sets of Higbee, Colby Parkinson, Terrance Ferguson and Davis Allen to embrace three tight end personnel to great effect last season. It was a major change from McVay, whose Los Angeles tenure had been defined by an almost exclusive reliance on using three wide receivers, one tight end and one running back.

Higbee had 25 receptions for 281 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games, and Parkinson, Ferguson and Allen also had at least 200 yards receiving and three or more scores. Rams tight ends combined to catch 17 of Matthew Stafford’s 46 touchdowns during his MVP season.

Having had a healthy offseason under his belt, Higbee expects to be even more productive. He sustained a serious knee injury in a wild-card playoff game in January 2024 and was limited to three games that fall while also recovering from shoulder surgery. A ankle injury sidelined him for much of the second half of the 2025 campaign.

By re-signing Higbee and drafting Max Klare from Ohio State in the second round, the Rams have the depth to continue to refine those tight end heavy packages for the upcoming season and years to come.

“With getting all the guys on the field and some of the 13 personnel stuff, the more we can do, the more guys we can get out there,” Higbee said. “We had a great group, a great year last year, and we’re working to build on that.”

Notes: DE Myles Garrett did not practice for the third straight day. McVay said Garrett is dealing with soreness in his “lower half” but does not believe the ailment is serious.

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Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay watches over his players at practice during NFL football training camp Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly declined Tuesday, despite a rally on Wall Street boosted by easing oil prices, as regional investors still weighed the impact from the recent joint U.S.-Japan currency intervention.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.6% to 63,369.85, as the U.S. dollar inched up to 157.63 Japanese yen from 157.18 yen. The euro cost $1.1511, little changed from $1.1514. The dollar was trading at 160-yen levels before the intervention.

Some analysts said the effectiveness of such an intervention remains uncertain as it doesn't address the fundamental economic reasons behind the currency fluctuations, including inflation, interest rates and the relative strengths of the economies.

“A U.S.-backed operation carries far more signaling weight than Tokyo acting alone, and the pledge of further action will give speculators pause. But any U.S. contribution will probably be constrained by size,” a report by BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, said.

Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury, noted the latest effort could have some impact because it appears to signal a real change in monetary policy rather than just a one-time defensive move.

“This is an historic and meaningful development for the yen, which materially improves confidence in our mildly bullish call for the currency,” he said.

South Korea's Kospi inched down less than 0.1% to 6,254.76. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1.2% to 9,128.60. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.5% to 25,881.99, while the Shanghai Composite declined 0.2% to 3,802.61.

On Wall Street, share prices rallied Monday after easing oil prices helped calm worries that inflation could get even worse. The S&P 500 jumped 1.5% and is just 0.1% below its record set earlier this summer.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which measures a narrower slice of the U.S. stock market, climbed 693 points or 1.3% to an all-time high, while the Nasdaq composite leaped 2.1%.

In energy trading in Asia early Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude gained 50 cents to $80.84 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 63 cents to $84.40 a barrel.

A day earlier, it had dropped after U.S. President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he decided to hold off on new strikes against Iran at the urging of allies in the region.

Brent’s price careened between $72 and $102 last month as worries rose and fell over the war in Iran and when oil tankers would be allowed to freely exit the Persian Gulf again to deliver crude to customers worldwide.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 4.68% from 4.75% late Friday. It remains well above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)